Welcome to the eG Forums, a service of the eGullet Society for Culinary Arts & Letters. The Society is a 501(c)3 not-for-profit organization dedicated to the advancement of the culinary arts. These advertising-free forums are provided free of charge through donations from Society members. Anyone may read the forums, but to post you must create an account.

Recommended Posts

I belong to a cookbook club here in San Francisco. Our first dinner is in two weeks. It's kind of like a potluck and social thing: everyone cooks from the same book, then on the big day, brings the dish to someone's house for a get-together. It's about cooking, entertaining, belonging and making new friends.

It's a groovy thing.

What I am so not in love with is the cookbook that was chosen, sort of like an icebreaker, because not everyone attending is on the same skill level. There are some very accomplished cooks who will be attending, including at least one person who has his own catering business. And some newbies, I'm sure. So you need something that will not intimidate. I do appreciate that (and I am far from a beginner).

Unfortunately, Mark Bittman's "How to Cook Everything" was the book that was chosen and reading it makes me rage.

A recipe for chicken adobo (page 658) calls for 1 cup soy sauce and 1/2 cup vinegar - which, if you think about it - changes it from chicken braised in vinegar with soy sauce and garlic to chicken braised in soy sauce with vinegar and garlic.

A recipe for chicken biryani (page 654) calls for 4 tbsp. butter instead of ghee and saffron instead of turmeric. Ghee is butter with the water removed and milk solids are caramelized - so it has a butterier and nuttier flavor than butter, plus you don't need to use that much.

I had heard Bittman's book was "basic" but I hadn't considered that his recipes were nearly unworkable from a technical standpoint. Oh my god...RAGE RAGE RAGE. This guy is supposed to be an authority. On what planet? Dear me, I need a drink.

Share this post

Link to post

Share on other sites

I'm no Bittman fan, but sounds like the gathering is supposed to be a social thing with food. Will anyone care if they're eating chicken braised in soy sauce with vinegar and garlic instead of chicken braised in vinegar with soy sauce and garlic, as long as it's good? I used to have that book and I gave it away a long time ago, and I am not a good cook; his entire "persona" rubs me the wrong way. But I know I've made things from it that I enjoyed. Maybe look though it until you find something suitable to your standards, I'm sure it's possible. (And no, I'm not being snarky.)

(And Bittman will never, not in a million years, come close to Joy of Cooking!)

Share this post

Link to post

Share on other sites

The two things for which I will always be grateful to HTCE (and I got it when I was a MUCH less accomplished cook than I am now, not that I'm all that accomplished now) -- pizza dough and fried rice. Worth the price of the book for those two alone.

Share this post

Link to post

Share on other sites

Biryani will be a surprise for some of those cooking out of the Bittman book. They may be afraid to try it. I must say HTCE has helped my adult son with cooking, it gives him the basics and he has learned to move on from that - and from cooking with me. But I’m not close to the accomplished cook that you are @ProfessionalHobbit

Share this post

Link to post

Share on other sites

Honestly, for folks that are just starting out on adult life (and didn't grow up in Foodie families) I give them Bittman's book and The Best Recipes. Newbies need to gain a basic appreciation that cooking food is not a herculean task and that even simple recipes, with a little effort, can taste good. Are they palate shattering? Are they 300% authentic to regional cuisine? No. But, these kinds of books start folks on their culinary journeys, and once they gain appreciation, they branch out (and some even become foodies like us). Everyone has to start somewhere...heck, I still pull out his book from time to time for his chicken thigh marinade and reminders on how long to cook certain itmes. These types of books open doors, at least in my humble opinion.

Share this post

Link to post

Share on other sites

Just a thought, but how about making the biranyi or any other recipe, but using its failings as a point of conversation for the club. This is about cooking as well as socializing, correct? Tell others about the curry seeds and mustard leaves and what they would have brought to the dish. Ask them what they think might have been used to improve their recipes. Help newbies come up with 'variations' to their recipes that might make them even better. It might make the evening even better.

Share this post

Link to post

Share on other sites

I recall a lot shouting over on that other food site when I said t hat JoC was a POS a few years ago. It was like I said something nasty about people's mothers.

I disagree entirely. I think Bittman is pretty much of a sham, and Joy of Cooking in filled with an incredible amount of information. I don't think you're saying anything about people's mothers, but I'd like to know why you think Joy of Cooking is "POS." That's very different from just saying that you don't like it.

Share this post

Link to post

Share on other sites

When I was in my 20s, Joy of Cooking introduced me to some basics that I sorely needed. My mom was a terrible cook, so I didn't learn to cook from her, it was from JOC. I branched out from there and got more sophisticated, but it was a valuable starting point.

Share this post

Link to post

Share on other sites

See, JOC is really great. And if that were the book chosen, I'd be more enthusiastic.

I don't feel the same way about Bittman's. I've made a few things from JOC and they've generally worked out well. I feel that one of the differences is that JOC doesn't cut corners unlike its competitor. You can clearly see it in the recipes.